Many devices, including medical devices, are becoming increasingly complex in terms of function and geometry. These devices frequently require a coating to provide a desired function or feature, such as providing the device with particular chemical or physical characteristics. However, traditional coating methods, such as dip coating, are often undesirable for coating complex geometries since the coating solution may get entrapped in the device structure. This entrapped solution can cause webbing or bridging of the coating and can hinder the function of the device. Other methods, such as spray coating, have also been used to apply coatings to these devices. However, current methods of spray coating often introduce operator error, and can also result in reduced coating consistency. In addition, traditional coating methods generally use costly reagents inefficiently and therefore are expensive for the user.
Improved coating methods and the apparatus to implement these methods are needed in this area.